Complete Tree Care Arboricultural Recruitment

Welcome to our News & Events section. Here you will find the latest company news and details of forthcoming events organised or attended by Complete Tree Care, including our highly successful 'Careers in Arboriculture' presentations. This site is updated regularly - so please check back regularly to make sure you're informed!

Complete Tree Care Sponsors AA Conference Complete Tree Care is pleased to annouce that we will be sponsoring the folders for the forthcoming National Amenity Arboriculture Conference in Warwick on 18th to 20th September 2011. We will of course have an exhibitor's stand at the conference and will be delighted to speak to any current or prospective clients and candidates.

Interview Advice on your mobile! As proof that there is now an application for everything, on line learning provider Learn Direct has produced a series of job related apps for i-phones and android smart phones. Called Fit for the Job the apps cover key skills such as interview techniques andCV writting. They last from 15 to 20 minutes and are priced at £1.49 (Android) and £1.79 (i-phone. These apps are a sign that more and more learning and development opportunities are entering the recruitment process. To celebrate our tenth birthday Complete Tree Care has decided to run a series of promotions on our services aimed at offering something for offer a one off discount on our services for three months until the end of August 2011.

Complete Tree Care is 10 years old! Complete Tree Care was established in 2001 and since then has grown to become the leading arboricultural recruitment company. Did you know:

we supply more than 100 staff every year to a range of clients,

we have supplied staff to 28 of london's 33 boroughs,

our international sales exceeded £250k last year,

our lowest fee is just £300 and we offer a refund in the first 3 months,

Swedish TCC and Trade Show
For a couple of years we have been supplying staff to a Swedish client in Stockholm. With a view to generating further business Complete Tree Care recently attended the Swedish ISA chapter's climbing competition and trade show. The event was held in Stockholm but was well attended by arborists from all regions of the country.

The Arb Show
We will have a trade stand at the Arb Show on 10-11th June 2011 at the Bathurst Estate, Curencester, GL7 6JT. We will be at plot T15, which is one of the small tented pitches opposite the AA stand. Bruce Blackman will be on hand to discuss vacancies we have and if you are looking for a job can register you there and then. For employers we can also take details of any vacancies you may have.

Report on London's Street Trees.
'Branching Out the Future of London's Street Trees April 2011' is a recent report by the London Assembly Environment Committee on the capital's highway trees. The report looks at the effectiveness of the Mayors Street Tree Programme, (it will achieve its traget of 10,000 trees planted by 2012),the changes in street tree numbers by borough across London (a small increase of 1.7%) and makes recommendations as to future arrangements for street trees. The report can be viewed from the LTOA's website: www.ltoa.org.uk

New Vacancies
At Complete Tree Care we aim to update our web site monthly. Because we only list current or unfilled vacancies we find that on many occasions we have vacancies which never make it onto the web site since they are registered with us and filled between updates! This means they are never advertised and so we would urge any candidates who are looking for the right position before registering to contact us first - so that you can ensure you get to hear about all our opportunities.

Complete Tree Care has moved!
After nine years in Church Stretton the Complete Tree Care offices have been moved to Shrewsbury. The new offices are larger, have their own parking and are more accessable.

Our new contact details are:

1 Claremont Buildings,

Claremont Bank,

Shrewsbury,

SY1 1RJ

Tel. 01743 344466

Fax. 01743 344666.

There are postal and phone diverts in place for those that do not have these details.

Single Equality Act Introduced
6 April 2010 The Equality Act 2010 consolidates existing equality law into a single piece of legislation and introduces a number of reforms. It defines direct discrimination as less favourable treatment because of a protected characteristic. This widens the scope for associative discrimination and discrimination based on a perceived protected characteristic. The Act prohibits employers from asking questions about health before offering a candidate a post. It widens the scope of harassment, by extending third party harassment to all the relevant protected characteristics. The Equality Act 2010 can be viewed on the OPSI website.

Additional paternity leave and pay for fathers
6 April 2010 The Additional Paternity Leave Regulations 2010 entitle employees who are fathers or partners of mothers or adopters, to take paternity leave of up to 26 weeks in the first year of their child’s life or the first year after the child’s placement for adoption, pursuant to the Work and Families Act 2006. The additional paternity leave has effect in relation to children whose expected week of birth is on or after 3 April 2011. A number of requirements must be satisfied, including that the mother or adopter has returned to work. The Regulations can be viewed on the OPSI website.

The Additional Statutory Paternity Pay (General) Regulations 2010 introduce an entitlement for employees who are fathers or who are the partners of mothers or adopters, to receive additional statutory paternity pay, pursuant to the Work and Families Act 2006. The Regulations set out a number of eligibility requirements, including conditions regarding employment before the expected week of childbirth. The Regulations set out the weekly rates for additional statutory paternity pay introduced under the Work and Families Act 2006. The weekly rate of payment of additional statutory paternity pay is the lesser of £124.88 and 90% of the employee’s normal weekly earnings. The Regulations can be viewed on the OPSI website.

Employee Study and Training (Eligibility, Complaints and Remedies) Regulations 2010 come into force
6 April 2010

A statutory right to make a request in relation to study or training is introduced for employees in organisations with 250 or more employees. Employers will be obliged to consider seriously requests that they receive, but will be able to refuse a request where there is a good business reason for doing so. The Regulations prescribe that the maximum amount of compensation that may be awarded where an employer does not comply with the procedural requirements in respect of a request, or refuses an application on impermissible grounds, is eight weeks' pay. The Regulations also set out requirements for the employee's application in relation to study or training. The Regulations can be viewed on the OPSI website.

Photo card Driving Licenses
I have recently been informed by Paul Elcoat that all UK photo card driving licences need to be updated every 10 years. The photograph on the licence is only valid for 10 years, therefore the driving licence and photo needs to be updated accordingly. Drivers will not need to retake a driving test but will of course need to submit a new photo taken at time of renewal. This started to happen in July 2008, with the DVLA starting to issue reminders in May 2008. The holder must renew their licence before their current photo expires. Renewal is necessary to avoid a £1000 fine. The licence expiry date can be found in the section marked 4b on the front of the photo card. The paper part of the licence however does not contain an expiry until the holders 70th Birthday.

Businesses will need to review licence holders who drive for work as employees with an out of date licence could affect vehicle insurance and therefore the entitlement to drive legally. All businesses that have employees driving for work should have a record of all drivers' licences and expiry dates, which should be updated at least annually, or every six months for any driver that is getting near the limit for a ban. However a DVLA spokesperson has said that a motorist's entitlement to drive will not be affected by failure to update the photo on the licence but it will invalidate their insurance. This is because with an out of date licence their entitlement to drive legally has ended, invalidating their car insurance, beware!!

The DVLA state that they will send a reminder and an application pack to each driver but it is of course the drivers responsibility to complete and return the application. See this web link http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Motoring/DriverLicensing/NeedANewOrUpdatedLicence/DG_078070

New BS Standard for Tree Inspection
As you may be aware the Bristish Standards institute is currently preparing a new standard for Tree Safety Inspection (BS8516). A draft has been available for comment on the AA web site. The position of both the AA and the ISA is that the new standard should not be progressed further until the National Tree Safety Council has had the opportunity to complete its its investigation into the issue of tree safety and determine whether or not a British Standard is required. The new standdard is therefore likely to be put on hold for the time being.

Careers Advice
Did you know that candidates who are registered with Complete Tree Care are eligible for our free careers advice leaflets. To receive any of the titles listed below please contact us using this form quoting the title you are interested in. Alternatively if you would prefer simply call our office on 01694 720022 and one of our industry experts would be happy to talk to you.

Applying for Jobs: Creating a CV,Working with your recruitment consultant,

Interviews: Researching jobs, Handling an interview

If you are offered a job: Getting the right salary, Accepting a job offer, Starting a new job